Beadle County, South Dakota

Beadle County, South Dakota
Location in the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded	1880
Named for	William Henry Harrison Beadle
Seat	Huron
Largest city	Huron
Area
• Total	1,265 sq mi (3,276 km2)
• Land	1,259 sq mi (3,261 km2)
• Water	6.1 sq mi (16 km2), 0.5%
Population (est.)
• (2013)	18,080
• Density	14/sq mi (5/km²)
Congressional district	At-large
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	beadle.sdcounties.org

Beadle County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,398. Its county seat is Huron. The county was created in 1879 and organized in 1880.

Beadle County comprises the Huron, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Beadle County, named in honor of Brigadier General William Henry Harrison Beadle, was created by the Dakota Territory Legislature in 1879 and formally organized in 1880 with the appointment of three county commissioners by Governor Nehemiah G. Ordway. The first town within Beadle County was Cavour, but Huron was named the county seat when the county commissioners first met there in July 1880.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,265 square miles (3,280 km²), of which 1,259 square miles (3,260 km²) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 281
• South Dakota Highway 28
• South Dakota Highway 37

Adjacent counties

• Spink County - north
• Clark County - northeast
• Kingsbury County - east
• Sanborn County - southeast
• Jerauld County - southwest
• Hand County - west

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	1,290		—
1890	9,586		643.1%
1900	8,081		−15.7%
1910	15,776		95.2%
1920	19,273		22.2%
1930	22,917		18.9%
1940	19,648		−14.3%
1950	21,082		7.3%
1960	21,682		2.8%
1970	20,877		−3.7%
1980	19,195		−8.1%
1990	18,253		−4.9%
2000	17,023		−6.7%
2010	17,398		2.2%
Est. 2014	18,169		4.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,023 people, 7,210 households, and 4,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 8,206 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.93% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.95% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.9% were of German, 11.7% Norwegian, 6.1% Irish, 5.8% English and 5.5% United States or American ancestry.

There were 7,210 households out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.10% were non-families. 33.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,510, and the median income for a family was $40,596. Males had a median income of $26,910 versus $19,785 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,832. About 7.90% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.20% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Huron (county seat)
• Iroquois
• Wessington

Towns

• Broadland
• Cavour
• Hitchcock
• Virgil
• Wolsey
• Yale

Census-designated place

• Morningside

Townships

The county is divided into thirty-six townships:

• Allen
• Altoona
• Banner
• Barrett
• Belle Prairie
• Bonilla
• Broadland
• Burr Oak
• Carlyle
• Cavour
• Clifton
• Clyde
• Custer
• Dearborn
• Fairfield
• Foster
• Grant
• Hartland
• Huron
• Iowa
• Kellogg
• Lake Byron
• Liberty
• Logan
• Milford
• Nance
• Pearl Creek
• Pleasant View
• Richland
• Sand Creek
• Theresa
• Valley
• Vernon
• Wessington
• Whiteside
• Wolsey

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Beadle County, South Dakota

Bibliography

• J.L. Carr (1957) The Old Timers. A social history of the way of life of the home-steading pioneers in the Prairie States during the first few years of settlement, as shown by a typical community, the 'old-timers' of Beadle County in South Dakota. Huron, South Dakota: privately printed.